P O P - U P C I T Y City-Making in a Fluid World
City-Making in a Fluid World
1
Pop-Up City
BIS Publishers Building Het Sieraad Postjesweg 1 1057 DT Amsterdam the Netherlands T +31 (0)20 515 02 30 F +31 (0)20 515 02 39 bis@bispublishers.nl www.bispublishers.nl ISBN 978 90 6369 354 1 Copyright Š 2014 Jeroen Beekmans, Joop de Boer, and BIS Publishers Design by Vruchtvlees | vruchtvlees.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owners. Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify owners of copyright. Any errors or omissions brought to the publisher's attention will be corrected in subsequent editions.
Pop-Up City City-Making in a Fluid World
Jeroen Beekmans Joop de Boer Jeroen Beekmans
Preface
the city they live in. Starchitects play a role in transforming the concrete jungle into a cohe-
After covering temporary urbanism at Pop-Up City for six years, we knew that the time was right to reflect on how far pop-up thinking has travelled over the years and the manifold ways in which pop-up is revamping cities the world over. The chapters that follow are not just a collection of cool concepts and interesting initiatives; they are proof of a paradigm shift in how city-making happens, leading to changes in how cities are conceived, designed, and built.
sive city skyline, but they do not make cities — food truck owners, street artists, app makers, and rooftop farmers are the real city-makers. Even without knowing it, these city-makers eat, sleep, and breathe flexibility more than any brick and mortar structure ever could, and they are better able to cope with an environment of permanent change. Our passion for the theme moved us to experiment with temporary city-making at Golfstromen, our creative agency. Pop-Up City's first headquarters was located in an empty building in the centre of Amsterdam that we
On an ordinary weekday in April 2008, we spent
transformed into a hyper-temporary art gal-
at least fifteen minutes in front of a shop win-
lery and co-working space for three months
dow in Berlin, taking photos of it from all sorts
over the summer. Our second office was a self-
of angles. We were fascinated by the thick black
made, inflatable plastic bubble. In that same
letters in the window: ‘Temporary Showroom.’
period, we turned an empty house into a psy-
The previous day, we had decided to start a
chedelic pop-up hotel, and we built the world’s
small blog at popupcity.net about flexible, vola-
first one-person cinema inside of a cupboard
tile, and temporary forms of architecture and
in a residential building. Moreover, we have
urbanism, and we were eager to find any ex-
travelled extensively to cover events and un-
pressions of pop-up culture. Pop-up urbanism
cover secrets in cities both near and far to see
was not as pervasive in 2008 as it is today, and
how people everywhere are doing pop-up city-
Pop-Up City was not the international platform
making while meeting amazing individuals in
with thousands of daily readers that it is today.
the process. All of these efforts have resulted
At the time that we began writing on popupcity.
in a valuable collection of over 1,700 articles
net, urban planning and architecture were still
about the ideas that make the city of today and
the sole domains of the almighty architects and
tomorrow, ranging from houses on wheels and
planners. The reason we started blogging in the
playful urban space hacks to next-generation
first place was that we refused to think of cities
retail concepts and plug-in restaurants.
as the product of master plans and fixed frameworks any longer. From the very beginning, we
Our blog’s content is as volatile as the themes
wanted to highlight the softer elements of city-
that we write about; articles are easily lost in
making; the elements that have seen citizen-led
the ever-growing stack of blog posts and, al-
initiatives provide small-scale improvements to
though the subjects covered could appear to
have a timeless quality, the Web remains hype-
a popular international design platform. There,
oriented. For this reason, we began to consider
our work was described as “refreshingly free of
presenting Pop-Up City in more durable and
any slickness, recognisable form, or even coher-
memorable ways. In 2013, we were approached
ence.” While our look may be somewhat slicker
by Museon, a Dutch museum located in The
than before and we like to think of ourselves as
Hague, to co-curate an exhibition on future
coherent individuals, Yanko Design’s glowing
urbanism, and translate Pop-Up City into a
review of Pop-Up City in its infancy gave us a
tangible physical format that you could walk
second wind and a renewed confidence in why
around, touch, and explore in a way that digital
we wanted to cover the temporary elements of
publishing cannot offer. In that same year, we
the modern city. The visitor explosion that re-
were given the chance to host a live urbanist
sulted from Smith’s post made us realise that
variety show in a theatre in Amsterdam that
blogging is not only about choosing the right
brought the blog’s content to life on stage with
angle — it is also about keeping yourself moti-
interviews, panel discussions, and even some
vated and inspired to write.
delicious live cooking. After having manifested Pop-Up City in the form of events, it became
Many people have contributed, directly or in-
time to explore other platforms with a longer
directly, to this book. The articles written by us
shelf life. The next logical step in metamor-
and our contributors over the past years have
phosing Pop-Up City was to write a book. For
formed the basis for everything that is in the
us, writing the Pop-Up City book was a way to
following chapters. In addition, there are plenty
reflect upon years of hard work, to get inspired
of wonderful people who have expressed their
once more by the greatest ideas we have show-
faith in the project during our crowdfunding
cased in the past, and to distill useful strategies
campaign on Kickstarter, which helped us turn
for flexibility-oriented urban development in a
this ambition into a reality. Without this sup-
fluid world.
port, the book simply would not exist.
There are numerous people worthy of our
We would like to mention here in particular
gratitude for this process. First of all, we have
the names of the people who have supported
to spend some words on Chad Smith, a New
us over the past year to make this book hap-
York-based architect and blogger who has
pen. First of all, we would like to thank our
played a crucial role in Pop-Up City’s exist-
editor Adam Nowek for writing this book to-
ence. The funny thing is that he (probably) has
gether with us, and helping us take its content
no idea. In December 2008, we thought about
to a higher level. His extensive knowledge of
ending our little blogging project, considering
city-making (and ice hockey), the English lan-
it to be a failed experiment with little regular
guage, and great sense of humour have made
readership. That month, Smith published a
the process of making this book a true pleasure.
brief article about our design agency, Golf-
Hannah Cook, Rebekka Keuss, and Melody
stromen, and our fresh blog on Yanko Design,
Moon have done a great job collecting photo
material as well as writing and editing the texts of the numerous inspiring examples showcased throughout the book.Without Stijn Hupkes and Rebekka, there would have been no Kickstarter campaign. Stijn created the amazing project video, and Rebekka’s great sense of copywriting has helped us a lot in launching the project online.We also owe graphic design studio Vruchtvlees our gratitude. Without their immense talents, the book would not have looked this great. Finally, we want to thank the people we started this journey for in the first place: our readers. We thank you for coming back each and every day, for reading our articles, and for sharing your inspiration with us. You keep us going! Jeroen Beekmans and Joop de Boer Amsterdam April 2014
An Introduction p—12
Living in the Pop-Up City Work Life in the Pop-Up City
p—18
p—62
Food in the Pop-Up City p—94
Shopping in the Pop-Up City p—138
Public Space in the Pop-Up City p—180 Urbanism in the Pop-Up City p—226
Conclusion p—262
P o p - U p C it y City-Making in a Fluid World
Flexible Cities with Fluid Citizens An Introduction Our cities are growing and changing faster and more drastically than at any other point in human history. Cities are gaining more influence over their internal affairs, allowing them to be major players in global societal, cultural, technological, and economic transformation processes. In order to better weather the winds of change, cities must be adaptable to unexpected needs, a state that the majority of cities have yet to achieve. Under the gleaming surface of urban planning rhetoric, an entire culture of inspiring and refreshing bottomup initiatives and pop-up design projects are helping urbanites change the way they use and make the city of tomorrow.
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14
int r o ducti o n
The Crisis Years
less willingness to contribute funds for urban
Few could have imagined that 2008 would be a
is the looming threat of peak oil, forcing the
watershed year in the trajectory of the world’s
creators of our built environments to rethink
cities and their inhabitants, but here we are. A
the energy sources for our architecture and
highly complex and undoubtedly corrupt eco-
our infrastructure. Creative solutions to con-
nomic system began to show the weaknesses in
tinue building liveable cities had to be sought
its armour and, whether unconsciously or not,
for. Urban planning, a field formerly known for
prompted world citizens to behave in a differ-
wholesale neighbourhood development, sud-
ent way. At the same time, a growing sense of
denly began using a new vocabulary awash with
mistrust between governments, citizens, and
buzzwords: placemakers interested in the DNA
the private sector has emerged, due largely to a
of the city applied urban acupuncture to solve
host of troubling developments such as terrorist
new problems. Empty lots and vacant buildings
activity, natural disaster mismanagement, and
became the breeding grounds for the creative
general dissent within the polity. Governments
class, giving place to shipping container vil-
began to be seen as obstacles to progress, rather
lages for temporary housing, urban farms and
than the forces that prompt positive change. As
trendy pop-up nightclubs. People started doing
regeneration. Complicating things even further
We view Pop-Up City as an inspiring series of snapshots showing innovation and passion from individuals in cities across the globe an alternative, citizens had to start thinking and
it themselves, crowdfunding their 3-D printed
doing in new ways, taking ideas from bottom-
projects with aplomb. New money had to be
up governance strategies. New structures for
found and companies and wealthy philanthro-
decision-making, financing, governing, manag-
pists were interested in stepping in.
ing, and producing had to be thought of in order to prevent western society as a whole from
Almost purely by chance, we joined the search
driving over the edge of a cliff.
for alternative ways to make the contemporary city by featuring them on our blog, Pop-Up
The way that cities were built and managed
City. In that sense, Pop-Up City could be con-
was also changing. Buildings, whichever type,
sidered a crisis blog, finding unique strategies
could no longer be constructed with the same
in an era of widespread uncertainty. You can, if
ease and levels of investment as before, with
you prefer, read this book as a guide to crisis ur-
governments and other institutions showing
banism, but that glosses over a significant part
P o p - U p C it y City-Making in a Fluid World
15
of the story. Pop-Up City was already around
connected to the Internet, be they laptops,
before the crisis, so it would be somewhat re-
smartphones, alarm clocks, cars, cows, televi-
ductive to say that we are only focussed on
sions, or our own bodies. 39% of the world’s
cataclysmic urban initiatives. We prefer to view
population in 2013 is able to use the Internet,
the extensive archives of Pop-Up City as an in-
and in the world’s highly developed countries
spiring series of snapshots showing innovation
that proportion sits at 77%. On the surface this
and passion from individuals in cities across the
is a victory for efficiency: perpetual connectiv-
globe, regardless of whatever obstacles may be
ity offers us the opportunity to better organ-
present.
ise a busy schedule or perform tasks that were once using slower methods involving now-antiquated technologies (paper, for instance). The
The Internet of Cities
mobile phones of yesteryear have evolved from
This new perspective of city life, one not based
ductivity-oriented smart devices of today and
upon being in a fixed space but based upon a
beyond.
simplistic communication devices into the pro-
psychogeographical perspective that ‘the city’ consists of a worldwide network of disparate
A connected world is a socially enhanced world
yet connected urban centres, comes from a
as well. While we might bemoan the person that
very real sense of hyper-connectivity. One only
just cannot put their phone down at the din-
needs to look at a network map for a reasonably
ner table, it is easier than ever before to interact
sized airline or the traffic analytics reports for
with people in faraway places, both in social
a website with impressive global reach to get a
and productive ways, as large swathes of the
sense of how no stone remains unturned in the
population invest more time interacting with
Internet age. We can be anywhere we want at
their online contacts rather than those that they
any time (or, at the very least, a relatively short
can engage in a face-to-face conversation with.
amount of time), a thought that barely crosses
Setting up a date for a group dinner or a protest
our minds when we board a Delhi-bound flight
can happen through a few flicks of the thumb.
in Los Angeles. The city is no longer in isola-
Digital connectivity fanned the flames of mas-
tion, but rather is part of an interconnected ma-
sive movements such as the Arab Spring, Eu-
trix that transcends space and time.
romaidan, and Occupy Wall Street, transforming them from small-scale demonstrations to
This connectivity has entrenched itself as a
globally connected movements using Facebook
natural element in our lives. It feels normal,
events and Twitter hashtags to relay important
even natural, for us to have access to a world of
information and even inspire satellite events
information in our pocket. Cisco, the American
in faraway places. At the governmental level,
networking technology corporation, estimated
militaries are using unmanned aerial vehicles
in 2013 that there are over 10 billion ‘things’
as security agencies battle attacks from activist
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L ivin g in the P o p - U p C it y
It’s a Nap in a Box! — Design office Arch Group has developed the Sleepbox, capsules designed to give people the opportunity to take a nap inside of busy urban environments such as airports, train stations, and shopping malls. The capsules have also proven capable of regenerating derelict buildings. The four-storey Sleepbox Hotel in Moscow contains 46 sleeping units for up to two people on the second and third floor, and ten single-person boxes on the top floor.
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P hoto C ourtesy: Arch Group
P o p - U p C it y City-Making in a Fluid World
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Tiny Pop-Up Modules for Students
Swedish architecture firm Tengbom has put together a sustainable, innovative, compact yet exciting response to the growing problem of student housing. Twenty-two pop-up modules are planned to appear on Lund University’s Campus offering a small home suitable for one student and comprising of a
p o pupcit y. net/ 3 01 3 4
P hoto C ourtesy: T engb om
sleeping loft, kitchen, bathroom, and small garden patio. With an efficient and ecologically friendly design, the project challenges the prototypical designs for student accommodation that needs to be increasingly flexible for the different needs of a globalised student base.
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L ivin g in the P o p - U p C it y
Parasite Cabin on the Side of a Hotel — The Manifest Destiny project by artist Mark Reigelman is a way of experimenting with space for building in city centres, wherein a parasite shelter is attached to the side of the Hotel des Arts in San Francisco. A small, rustic cabin is occupying one of the last unclaimed spaces in the city, between and above the buildings. The project plays with the idea of vertical territory in the city. Fitted with a wood-burning stove, the cabin has just enough space for one, offering a bird’s nest residency high above San Francisco.
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P hoto C ourtesy: Mark Reigelman
P o p - U p C it y City-Making in a Fluid World
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192 countries, Airbnb has swiftly become the
all of the eccentric and unnecessary parts of ar-
worldwide leader in accommodation. Trust and
chitecture are stripped away in a manner that it
credibility are the main drivers of this massive
can be placed just about anywhere, offering the
success, pushing other types of conventional
intimacy of a private home in an efficient and
hospitality and accommodation in an unprec-
minimal design. Ideas such as these provide the
edented manner. Thanks to online develop-
flexible urbanite with a living space that need
ments, a reliable system of mutual trust and
not be spatially fixed.
credential payments has been created with the potential to change the way people find lodging. Civic governments around the world generally have no policy framework to respond to the peer-to-peer accommodation trend, with many cities such as Amsterdam and New York
The Dark Side of Flexible Housing
unsure of the legal positioning of those renting
Not everyone in the world can afford a life in
out a room.
hotels, Airbnb flats, and parasite apartments transported by helicopter. As attractive as a
Another option to live a flexible life without
more flexible lifestyle is to many individuals,
spending time in hotels alone is the mobile
it can be a costly endeavour that many are
apartment block. One example comes from
simply forced into. Those that cannot afford a
German designer Werner Aisslinger. Aissling-
more adaptive lifestyle, often migrant workers
er’s twenty square metre parasite apartment
or refugees, depend on flexible shelters, illegal
Hong Kong’s informal housing market is a very real manifestation of the downside to living in a highly globalised alpha world city known as The Loft Cube can be lifted by heli-
subletting, or squatting. These social groups
copter and lowered onto an existing building,
come up with rather creative solutions to their
enabling affluent urban nomads to combine a
acute housing issues, though often at great cost
flexible lifestyle with the domesticity of home
to personal safety, hygiene, and well-being.
ownership in a unique location that is impermanent. A similarly minimalist living concept
Hong Kong is an apt example of the dark
comes from Japanese architects Jo Nagasaka
side of living flexibility. The city’s high-rises
and Schemata Architecture Office. The con-
are awash with informal rooftop communities
cept, called PACO, is a box for living wherein
built by migrants with questionable legality.
c o ntinued o n pa g e 31
Co-Working in a Nightclub Work Life in the Pop-Up City Two hundred years ago, much of mankind worked in the fields; one hundred years ago, the majority of labour took place in dusky factories; and fifty years ago, people worked in office buildings. Now, people work everywhere. Only hunter-gatherer societies were more flexible in their working lives than the contemporary urbanite. Ever since the rise of agriculture thousands of years ago, however, people have tended to stick to their place — a place that required them to plough the land, to operate machinery, and to answer the landline phone. But those days are coming to a close as agriculture and heavy industry become self-operating and our communication devices shrink. People now change their job as easily as they replace their toothbrush, while business people travel the world to find new clients and employees, and cities adapt to more flexible work styles.
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w o r k life in the P o p - U p C it y
The Birth of the
coffee can be one of them. For many urbanites,
Nomadic Worker
besides earning a living in a footloose economy.
In 2008, The Economist dedicated an entire is-
being replaced by inspiring new public urban
sue to the emerging phenomenon of urban no-
arenas and living rooms. These can be classified
mads. A series of articles describes an emergent
as third places, a term coined by urban sociolo-
tribe, roaming the world’s cities, looking for a
gist Ray Oldenburg to define the social places
table to work at, outlets to recharge laptop and
that are separate from the conventional envi-
smartphone batteries, and social places to con-
ronments of home and work. Third places are
nect with other professionals. Sitting behind her
multifunctional and offer an attractive option
laptop in a coffee bar, the Wi-Fi-hunting urban
for the flexible individual, regardless of whether
nomad is a new type of person on the streets of
or not she is looking to relax or finish that proj-
the global metropolis in the early twenty-first
ect. These types of spaces are not competing to
century, a person that provokes us to think of
be the place of a specific function, but, rather,
work less as a series of tasks requiring comple-
on their coolness, even prompting the world’s
tion and more as a process of creating some-
most prominent Internet startups to turn a
thing useful or interesting. This new approach
massive campus-style headquarters into a play-
to work habits results in a highly flexible work
ground. In each of these places, work blends
style, putting its mark on many aspects of ur-
with lifestyle.
working means hanging out and showing off, The restraining environment of the office is
ban life. Work is perceived in a completely new way, and, more importantly, it asserts a new
The third places that are popular among flex-
position in urban space, leading to new urban
ible workers are hybrids between coffee bars
functions and forms.
and offices. While offices increasingly tend to look like bars with high-top tables and designer
Nobody could have missed the impressive re-
chairs, more and more bars tend to look like
naissance of the coffee bar over the past decade.
offices with shareable tables and ubiquitous
Coffee bars have gradually become the new of-
power outlets. Co-working spaces are the most
fice for young urban professionals; individuals
prevalent new concept that suit the needs of
who not only want to escape the confines of
the urban nomads seeking these multifunc-
the cubicle, but also wish to make their flex-
tional spaces. Some co-working chains, such as
ible working habits an important part of their
NextSpace, The Hub, and Urban Station, have
increasingly nomadic lifestyle. The swift rise in
expanded to multiple cities, while others, such
appreciation of high-quality coffee in that sense
as Betahaus in Berlin, are focussed on serving
could be a direct result of this drastic change
the needs of their own communities. By design-
in work styles: these workers want there to be
ing places that have a hybrid form, co-working
perks for being at work, and an enjoyable cup of
spaces provide an alternative working area that
P o p - U p C it y City-Making in a Fluid World
is both formal and casual, allowing users to
65
jobs in the cloud.
create high-quality work within a constantly changing workplace with a loose professional
Cloud-based data storage removes the need for
network. These spaces minimise overhead costs
physical presence at the office, leading to new
for workers and place individuals from a wide
types of entrepreneurship, based on online con-
variety of disciplines at the same table.
nections as well as an immense expansion of international travel networks. CEOs of worldleading companies are now not the only ones
Jobs in the Cloud
travelling the globe to increase their business
The decline of the traditional office and the
and-file employees to entrepreneurial freelanc-
lively appreciation of the public sphere to work
ers, are expanding their professional foraging
is a consequence of technological develop-
area in their hunt for knowledge, networks,
ments that unfolded during the past few de-
and income. Technological advancements have
cades. Over the past twenty years, the Internet
resulted in the compartmentalisation of work,
has transformed itself from a parallel world
creating the microjob. Microjobs are where a
into a system that is embedded into our daily
project’s tasks are broken down into the small-
reach — millions of other workers, from rank-
Offices increasingly tend to look like bars and more and more bars tend to look like offices lives. Not only have personal communication
est possible components and distributed to a
devices become crucial tools for productivity
considerable number of workers. In a sense,
and social interaction, they are more mobile
microwork is part of a virtual assembly line for
and powerful than ever before. Laptops are no
knowledge-based work that requires human in-
longer expensive, state-of-the art innovations
telligence as opposed to well-oiled machinery.
and the rise of high-capacity mobile Internet networks, smartphones, and tablets have made
More workers and employers are turning to-
it possible to work anywhere. In 2005, laptops
wards flexible employment arrangements, as
outsold desktop computers for the first time in
they have become more attractive in various
the United States. Work could subsequently be
fields of work. As an example, 39% of people
siphoned from the office tower, resulting not
between the ages of 15 and 24 in the Nether-
only in many workers performing their tasks
lands had a flexible labour contract in 2012,
from a different location than the typical office
compared to 25% in 2002. In this case, flex-
space but also in radically new ways of delegat-
ible contracts have begun to unseat the tradi-
ing tasks, paving the way for all kinds of new
tional dominance of permanent contracts. The
c o ntinued o n pa g e 7 1
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w o r k life in the P o p - U p C it y
C to the Office — Located in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighbourhood, Betahaus is a mixture between a ‘regular’ coworking space and a social community. The place is a hybrid form, somewhere between a Viennese coffee bar and a library that is open to everybody, providing for the needs of hardcore writers, but also for those who enjoy a social working environment. Members can rent a flexible desk or become a more structural part of the concept and join collaborative projects. The basic philosophy of Betahaus is that workers benefit from using an ever-changing workplace.
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P o p - U p C it y City-Making In a Fluid World
P hoto C ourtesy: S tefano B orghi
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w o r k life in the P o p - U p C it y
It’s Not a Bar, It’s Not an Office: It’s an Urban Station — One innovative new workspace popping up in a country near you is Urban Station. Operating franchises in five different countries, Urban Stations are warmly-designed member’s clubs for mobile workers. The spaces offer workers flexibility in that they need not permanently rent a desk or office but only purchase the ability to access the bright, homey space. Urban Station makes mobile work more casual.
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P o p - U p C it y City-Making in a Fluid World
P hoto C ourtesy: Urban S tation
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w o r k life in the P o p - U p C it y
Co-Working in Think-Tank for a Nightclub Modern Office Solutions In case you think that Sweden just isn’t dark enough, Stockholm Nightowls provided an interesting service between 2010 and 2012: a space to work late into the evening. Stockholm Nightowls offered an open space late at night in order to encourage nattuglor (literally, night owls) to hunch their shoulders over their laptops and get some work done while the city sleeps.
p o pupcit y. net/ 7 7 5 0 P hoto C ourtesy: Johan Hedberg and P ia Ho gberg
PROOFF is a platform created by Dutch designer Jurgen Bey which does not merely come up with better solutions for current workplace environments but also poses new questions. By actively observing and researching contemporary working habits, PROOFF, which is short for Progressive Office, explores what can be improved, and — thanks to a large repertoire of designers — immediately turns their new insights into useful interior designs.
p o pupcit y. net/ 2 8 1 3 P hoto C ourtesy: P ROOFF
P o p - U p C it y City-Making in a Fluid World
71
proportion of freelance workers has grown dra-
Other, more public spaces are quickly becom-
matically over the past decade, and it will con-
ing potential offices as well, in part due to the
tinue to grow even further, writes urbanist An-
strengthening of mobile phone networks. Cities
thony Flint in an article on The Atlantic Cities:
are technologising public parks, making them
“A study by Intuit predicted that the number of
an attractive option for sitting on a bench in the
‘contingent’ or freelance workers — those hired
sun and typing up that invoice, either because
more on the consultant model for two days a
of fast 4G connections or publicly-accessible
week, for example, and who work for multiple
wireless Internet. Athens, for instance, was one
masters — will rise from 20 million to 40 mil-
of the first cities to equip a park with wireless
lion [in the United States] by 2020.” Freelance
Internet in 2009. But what was once a novelty
workers are completely free in their choice for
has become business as usual. New York City
a place to work. Many work from home, where
has equipped sixty public parks with Wi-Fi as
they have no colleagues and thus limited pos-
of 2013 through a public-private partnership,
sibilities for networking and collaborating.
while Mexico City used an innovative campaign
Their desperate search for some company and
that provides complimentary wireless when you
a professional network brings them to public or
deposit your pet’s waste in the rubbish bin. In
semi-public places to work.
the private sector, a handful of multinational chains, including McDonald’s and Barclays, offer free Wi-Fi in their branches, while air-
The City Is an Office
ports and libraries have gained new functions
While the first generation of mobile workers is
a flight or borrow a book but also to increase
aware of the convenience of working in a café,
the productivity of patrons. As a result, the next
many are still discovering it as a new frontier
generation of urban nomads has an even more
of working in a relaxing, convivial atmosphere.
fragmented working relation with the city. They
Despite the unpleasant noise in many cafés
work from home, the park, the bus, a public
and the awkward choice between drinking too
bench, the coffee bar, and the launderette. At
much coffee or the embarrassment of consum-
all places, they use multiple devices that are
ing too little in the eyes of the baristas, working
connected to a single cloud-based profile. The
from this traditionally social space is nonethe-
new office is in the cloud and the desk is scat-
less quite popular. The ‘café’ where patrons
tered throughout the city.
as oases for urban nomads, not merely to catch
simply pay an entrance fee for the right to enjoy bottomless cups of coffee in an attractive
Apart from bringing Wi-Fi to public spaces, cit-
setting such as London’s Ziferblat is only one
ies have not yet fully adapted to the transform-
of many workplace typologies that provides a
ing labour market and flexible public working
social space for visitors.
arenas. The Economist’s special urban-themed issue noted a considerable drop in demand
c o ntinued o n pa g e 8 0
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w o r k life in the P o p - U p C it y
SPARESPACE by Nieuwe Garde P hoto C ourtesy: S abina T heijs
Mobile Offices for the Masses Designers everywhere are striving to create unique new concepts for working spaces that are more adaptable and more transportable than the office furniture of the past. BEEBOX is a collapsible office that has acoustic wall panels to create a private workspace for a busy bee working at it. SPARESPACE is a high-tech foldable working space complete with walls that can be
turned into touchscreen displays. Koloro Desk is geared towards creating an aesthetically pleasing working environment that is green and organised. All of these concepts are proof that not only are working styles becoming ever more flexible but that they are boosting demand for furniture typologies that respond to these needs.
P o p - U p C it y City-Making in a Fluid World
BEEBOX by Buro Beehive and Fiction Factory P h o t o C o u r tes y: T h o mas B o r n
Koloro Desk by Torafu Architects P hoto C ourtesy: Tor afu Architects and Akihiro I to
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F OO D in the P o p - U p C it y
Urban Green on New York Rooftops — Thought to be the world’s largest urban rooftop farm, Brooklyn Grange has two acres of land in Brooklyn and Queens that cultivates produce for residents across The Big Apple. Not content with simply being a farm, Brooklyn Grange is a onestop shop for everything agricultural as they also keep egg-laying chickens and an apiary, in addition to operating a consultation and installation service for building owners who want to make their rooftop a little bit greener.
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P hoto C ourtesy: Kristine Paulus (kpaulus on Flickr)
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From Factories to Food in Kwun Tong — While many of the world’s alpha cities have been enthusiastic in developing rooftop agriculture, Hong Kong has lagged behind its peers, with many of the city’s supertall towers housing illegal rooftop settlements. One initiative is working hard to change the status quo in Hong Kong. HK Farm, located in the rapidly transforming Kwun Tong district, is an agricultural plot perched on a factory rooftop in a neighbourhood witnessing a transition from industry to commerce. Interestingly, HK Farm is led not by agricultural experts but by enthusiasts from the design sector, maintaining a relationship with HK Honey as well as a community-oriented art and design platform at Shanghai Street Studios.
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P hoto C ourtesy: Glenn Eu gen Ellingsen
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Sharing Seeds for a Greener City
Hawaii-based Eating in Public has created a design prototype for SeedSharing Stations, which offer urban farmers the opportunity to exchange fruit and vegetable seeds at no cost. The Seed-Sharing Stations, which are constructed using scrap metal, are a platform for knowledge
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exchange on all things agriculture. The prototype for building a SeedSharing Station is straightforward and freely accessible from the Eating in Public website, meaning that any agricultural enthusiast can build either a temporary installation or a more permanent place for sharing.
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A Marketplace for Backyard Farmers Locafora is a Dutch digital marketplace for exchanging homegrown produce that you grow in your backyard. The service aims to stimulate good eating habits as well as lessen the amount of wasted backyard produce by letting producers set up a virtual store that lists their agricultural offerings. Locafora is one initiative trying to inspire slow food principles and urban agricultural know-how in a country full of cities that are rarely intimately connected with the food production process.
A Salad for Your Vending Machine? In an attempt to change the way Chicagoans think about fast food and vending machine offerings, Farmer’s Fridge offers up leafy greens in a jar. The vending machine, which looks similar to conventional vending machines, is filled with glass jars that are lovingly filled by hand each morning with fresh salads from local farms. Jars are returned to the machine so that they can be washed and reused.
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u r banism in the P o p - U p C it y
Sidewalk Billboards Double as Furnished Walls HomePro, one of the largest hardware store chains in Thailand, has come up with an innovative new advertising campaign: they designed sidewalk billboards that can double as walls for small homes. The campaign, called Other Side, builds upon the widespread phenomenon in Thai cities of urban dwellers recycling sidewalk billboards for the construction of their homes. HomePro designed the back of their billboards as prefabricated and pre-furnished walls on
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one side with a poster advertisement on the other, characterising a new trend in marketing-based urbanism.
P o p - U p C it y City-Making in a Fluid World
Rainbow City Media and Internet giant AOL has collaborated with Miami-based art collective FriendsWithYou and created an urban playground in New York City, in celebration of the opening of the second section of the High Line. Rainbow City, an environmental installation consisting
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of a variety of inflated sculptures, encourages both adults and children to explore the immense 16,000 square foot ‘happy city.’ Inspiring creativity amongst visitors of all ages, the installation was originally commissioned by Luminato Festival of the Arts in Toronto and is expected to host a number of educational programmes.
Colophon A Publication by Pop-Up City
Publisher BIS Publishers
Authors Jeroen Beekmans Joop de Boer
Find Us Online Web: popupcity.net E-mail: mail@popupcity.net
Editor Adam Nowek
Special Thanks to Tamar Barneveld, Daniel Cooper, Michael Danker, Vivian Doumpa, Rindor Golverdingen, Stijn Hupkes,
Contributing Editors Hannah Cook Melody Moon
Margot van der Kroon, Teresa Lee, Rachel Lissner, Marleen Rademaker, Sofie R책destad, Daniel Rotsztain, Roman Stikkelorum, Rudolf van Wezel, Bob Wiebes This publication was made possible through the generous support of
Image Researchers Hannah Cook Rebekka Keuss Melody Moon Graphic Design Vruchtvlees vruchtvlees.com